StarLadder Budapest Major: Schedule, Format, Teams & How To Watch
As the 23rd Valve-sponsored CS Major Championship in history, StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is considered the crowning event of the current Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports season. It marks StarLadder’s return to the CS2 Major circuit for the first time since the Berlin Major 2019.
That said, all eyes are on the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 to deliver top-tier plays and plenty of head clicking. Let’s dive into all the event details, including the format, schedule, competing teams, prize pool distribution, and how to watch the action.
- 1. StarLadder Budapest Major Location & Start Date
- 2. StarLadder Budapest Major Schedule & Format
- Prize Pool Distribution
- 3. Teams Competing At StarLadder Budapest Major
- 4. How To Watch StarLadder Budapest Major
- How To Buy Tickets
- StarLadder Budapest Major Talent
- 5. Top Teams At StarLadder Budapest Major
- Team Vitality
- Team Spirit
- Team Falcons
- 6. FAQs
- 7. References
StarLadder Budapest Major Location & Start Date
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 starts on November 24 at the MTK Sportpark venue and ends at the MVM Dome arena on December 14. As the tournament name suggests, the organizer’s flagship event will take place in Budapest, Hungary.
StarLadder Budapest Major Schedule & Format
The CS2 Major Championship unfolds over four phases. Stages 1 to 3 of the StarLadder Budapest Major will take place at MTK Sportpark and follow the same 16-team Swiss System format. Advancement and Elimination matches are best-of-three, while all others will remain best-of-one.
Stage 1 runs from November 24 to 27, sending the top eight teams forward. Stage 2, from November 29 to December 2, mixes those advancing squads with a set of direct invites. The top eight teams will then clash with another group of invited teams in Stage 3, set for December 4 to 7, with only eight securing Playoffs berths.
From December 11 to 14, the final eight contenders will take the stage at the MVM Dome for the single-elimination Playoffs, where every match is a best-of-three showdown for the Major crown.
Prize Pool Distribution
Teams are competing for a share of the $1,250,000 Valve-sponsored prize pool, which is distributed as follows.
| Place | Prize Money (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1st | $500,000 |
| 2nd | $170,000 |
| 3rd-4th | $80,000 each |
| 5th-8th | $45,000 each |
| 9th-16th | $20,000 each |
| 17th-24th | $10,000 each |
| 25th-32nd | $5,000 each |
| Total | $1,250,000 |
Teams Competing At StarLadder Budapest Major
A total of 32 teams have earned spots at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, based on their Valve Regional Standings (VRS) rankings at the cutoff date of October 6.
All teams fought tooth and nail to earn spots. A prime example is how FNATIC claimed the final spot in Stage 1 by the skin of their teeth, flying to a small LAN event in the US to secure critical points.
You’ll find all participants below, along with the stage they were invited to based on their VRS ranking in their respective region.
| Stage | Europe | Americas | Asia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 3 | Team Vitality Team Spirit Team Falcons MOUZ G2 Esports | FURIA paiN Gaming | The MongolZ |
| Stage 2 | Aurora Gaming NAVI Astralis 3DMAX Team Liquid | MIBR Passion UA | TYLOO |
| Stage 1 | FaZe Clan GamerLegion Ninjas in Pyjamas B8 PARIVISION FNATIC | Legacy Imperial Esports M80 NRG Esports Fluxo RED Canids | Lynn Vision The Huns FlyQuest Rare Atom |
How To Watch StarLadder Budapest Major
You can watch all the StarLadder Budapest Major action live via the tournament organizer’s Twitch, YouTube, and Kick channels.
How To Buy Tickets
If you want to join the crowd in Budapest, Hungary, to watch the action live, you can purchase tickets via the Ticket Fairy website. All four stages of competition take place on LAN.
- Get tickets for Stages 1 to 3 at the MTK Sportpark
- Get tickets for the Playoffs Stage at the MVM Dome
StarLadder Budapest Major Talent
Some of the best talent in the business will guide viewers through the tournament. Check out the list of confirmed talent and roles below.
- Freya “Freya” Spiers (Host)
- James “BanKs” Banks (Host)
- Sam “Tech Girl” Wright (Host)
- Jacob “Pimp” Winneche (Analyst)
- Jonatan “Devilwalk” Lundberg (Analyst)
- Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg (Analyst)
- Teodor “tedd” Borisov (Analyst)
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill (Caster)
- Alex “Machine” Richardson (Caster)
- Hugo “Hugo” Byron (Caster)
- Harry “JustHarry” Russell (Caster)
- Conner “Scrawny” Girvan (Caster)
- Mohan “launders” Govindasamy (Caster)
- Adam “Dinko” Hawthorne (Caster)
- Jason “moses” O’Toole (Caster)
Top Teams At StarLadder Budapest Major
All teams invited directly to Stage 3 of the StarLadder Budapest Major are top contenders. Considering recent results and expected player form, we’ve highlighted the squads that could fill the podium.
Team Vitality
With eight S-Tier LAN trophies added to their cabinet this year so far, Team Vitality has a giant bullseye on their back. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s men are considered by many as the strongest squad in the tournament.
Team Vitality is technically the defending champions, having won the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. A win at StarLadder Budapest Major will solidify the “Team Vitality era,” and AWPer Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut’s claim to the Player of the Year throne.
Team Vitality roster:
- Robin “ropz” Kool
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
- William “mezii” Merriman
- Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)
Team Spirit
The mighty Russian side, Team Spirit, could spoil Team Vitality’s day. 2024 Player of the Year, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, functions as the spearhead of Team Spirit’s attack.
With two roster changes after the BLAST.tv Austin Major, bringing in Ivan “zweih” Gogin and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich, donk now has the backup required to lift another Major Championship trophy.
Competing in China has been kind to Team Spirit, with donk, sh1ro, and chopper looking to repeat their Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 success, where they beat FaZe Clan 2-1 in the Grand Final.
Team Spirit roster:
- Danil “donk” Kryshkovets
- Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
- Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich
- Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov (IGL)
- Sergey “hally” Shavayev (Coach)
Team Falcons
Since March 2025, Team Falcons haven’t left the VRS top 10 and are widely considered one of the best CS2 teams in the world. That’s despite the organization having won only one S-Tier trophy (at PGL Bucharest in April 2025). On paper, however, Team Falcons should soar to multiple Grand Finals.
Legendary rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač remains one of the top players, and AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov found frightening form at ESL Pro League Season 22. With prodigy Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin joining the fray, and their five-time Major Championship-winning coach crafting diverse tactics, the sky’s the limit for Team Falcons.
Team Falcons roster:
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin
- René “TeSeS” Madsen
- Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (IGL)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)
FAQs
Where will the StarLadder Budapest Major take place?
StarLadder Budapest Major takes place in Budapest, Hungary, with Stages 1-3 on LAN at the MTK Sportpark and the Playoffs Stage at the MVM Dome.
Who will win the StarLadder Budapest Major?
Team Vitality, Team Spirit, and Team Falcons are most likely to win the StarLadder Budapest Major.
Which teams are StarLadder Budapest Major underdogs?
While most of the 16 teams competing in StarLadder Budapest Major Stage 1 are considered underdogs, five stand out as the lowest-ranked: The Huns, Rare Atom, RED Canids, NRG, and Fluxo.
Can I get tickets to all stages of the StarLadder Budapest Major?
Yes. Tickets to attend StarLadder Budapest Major are available on the Ticket Fairy website for Stages 1-3 at the MTK Sportpark, as well as for the Playoffs Stage at the MVM Dome.
Will we see a back-to-back Major Championship winner?
The BLAST.tv Austin Major champions, Team Vitality, are the favorites to win StarLadder Budapest Major, making a back-to-back Major Championship winner not only possible, but likely.
References
- StarLadder_cs_en (Twitch)
- StarLadder CS2 Highlights (YouTube)
- starladder1 (Kick)
- StarLadder Budapest Major: Stage 1-3 (Ticket Fairy)
- StarLadder Budapest Major: Playoffs (Ticket Fairy)
